Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1887-07-30

a packing case, ara placed nnder an extern
po.ary tent, all for the world like youni
couple picnicliing on their honeymoon. O.
course the whole thing was very irksom
in q wav, but it is not to be denied thai
it had charm of its own. 70 begin with.
jess, when once one got thoroughly to know
her, was one Of the most delightful COM
panions to a man like John Mel that il
was possible to meet with, Never, til this
leng tete q tete at Pretoria; had he guessed
how powerful and original was her mind,
or how witty she could be when she liked.
There was fund of dry and suggestive
humor about her which. although it would
no more bear being written down than
champagne will bear standing i'll tumbler,
was very pleasant to listen TO, more especially
as John soon discovered that he was the only
person SO privileged. Her friends and re
iations had never suspected that Jess was
humorous. Another thing that struck him
about her, as time went on, was that she was
growing quite handsome She had been very
pale and thin when he reached Pretoria, but
before a month was over she had goC, COM
paratively speaking, stout which was an
enormous gain to her appearance. Her pale
face, too, gathered a faint tinge of color, that
came and went capriciously, like starlight on
the water, and her beaut full eyes grow deeper
and more beautiful than ever
"Who would ever have thought that it was
the same girl!o said Mrs. Neville to him,
holding up her hands as she watched jess
solemnly surveying a half cooacd mutton
chop; ''why, she used to he such a poor crea-
ture, and now she's quite a fine woman. And
that with this life, too, which is wearing me
to a shadow, and has half killed my dear
daughter"
81 suppose it is being in the open air." said
John, ii having never occurred to him that
the medicine that was doing jess so much
good might be happiness But so it was, At
first there had been a struggle, then lull,
and after that an idea. Why should she not
enjoy his society while she couldf He had
been thrown into her way through no wish
Of hers. She had no desire to wean him from
Bessie; or if she had desire, it was one she
was far too honorable woman to entertain.
He was perfectly innocent of the whole story;
to him she was the young lady who happened
to be the sister of the woman he was going to
yfiaf!.y, that was all, Why should she not
pluck her innocelE roses while she might!
She forgot that the rose is if51Ver with
dangerous perfume, and one that is apt to-
confuse the senses and turn the head 50 she
went nearer to knowing what happiness
really meant than she ever had before What
wonderful thing is the love of a woman in
its simplicity and strength, and how it gilds
all the poor and common things of life, and
even finds JOY lii service! The pfouder the
woman the more delight does she extract
from her self abaSement before her idol. Only
not many women can love like Jess, and
when they do they almost Invariably make
some fatal mistake, whereby the wealth Of
their affection is wasted, or worse still, be-
comes a source Of misery or shame to them
selves and others.
1t was after they had been incarcerated in
Pretoria for about u month that a bright idea
occurred to John. About quarter of mile
from the outskirts of the camp stood little
house known, probably on account OF its
diminutive size as The Palatial." This cot
tagp had been, like almost every other house
i'll Pretoria, abandoned to its fate, its owner,
as it happened, being away from the town.
One day, in the course of walk, John and
Jess crossed the little bridge that spanned the
SLUT and went in to inspect the place. Pass
ing down path lined on either side with
young blue gums, they reached the little tin
rooted cottage. 1t consisted of two rooms
a bedroom and good sized sitting room, in
which still stood table and a few chairs,
with a stable and kitchen at the back They
went i'll and sat down by the open door and
looked out. The grounds of the little place
sloped down toward valley, on the farther
side of which rose a wooded hill To the
right, too, was hill clothed in deep green
bush. The grounds themselves were planted
with vines, just now loaded with punches of
ripeninG grapes, and surrounded with Il
beautiful hedge of monthly roses that formed
a blaze of bloom. Near the house, too, was
bed of double roses, some of them exceedingly
beautiful, and all Towering with profusion
unknown in this country Altogether it was
delightful little spot, and, after the noise and
glare of the camp, seemed perfectly heavenly;
and they sat there and talked a great deal
about the farm and old Silas Croft, and
little about Bessie.
This is nice" said jess presently putting
her hands behind her head and looking out at
the bush beyond.
"Yes," said John 81 say, I've got an idea.
vote we take up our quarters here-during
the day, | mean. OF course we shall have to
sleep in camp, but we might eat here, you
know, and you could sit here all day; it
would be as safe as a church, for those Beers
will never try to storm the town, l am sure
of that
jess reflected and soon came to the conclu-
sion that it would be a charming arrange
ment, and accordingly next day she set to
work and got the place as nice and tidy as
circumstances would allow and thew com.